The Return of the Native (Wordsworth Classics) - Softcover

Hardy, Thomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1853262382 ISBN 13: 9781853262388

Publisher: Wordsworth Editions, 1995

Synopsis

With an Introduction and Notes by Claire Seymour, University of Kent at Canterbury.

The Return of the Native is widely recognised as the most representative of Hardy's Wessex novels. He evokes the dismal presence and menacing beauty of Egdon Heath - reaching out to touch the lives and fate of all who dwell on it. The central figure is Clym Yeobright, the returning native and the story tells of his love for the beautiful but capricious Eustacia Vye.

As the narrative unfolds and character after character is driven to self-destruction the presence of the Heath becomes all-embracing, while Clym becomes a travelling preacher in an attempt to assuage his guilt.

About this title

Review

" Most of Hardy' s novels, and particularly the early ones, have a Shakespearean power of creating a unique world and climate of being . . . "The Return of the Native" is . . . thoughtful, valedictory, poetic, tinged with the somberness of an uncertainty which seems to well up from the depths of the author' s own subconscious . . . Hardy' s sense of the tragic life of human beings, mere small fragments of consciousness in a vast uncaring universe, comes directly from his own youthful awareness of the place and circumstances described in the novel." - from the Introduction by John Bayley

Most of Hardy s novels, and particularly the early ones, have a Shakespearean power of creating a unique world and climate of being . . . The Return of the Native is . . . thoughtful, valedictory, poetic, tinged with the somberness of an uncertainty which seems to well up from the depths of the author s own subconscious . . . Hardy s sense of the tragic life of human beings, mere small fragments of consciousness in a vast uncaring universe, comes directly from his own youthful awareness of the place and circumstances described in the novel. from the Introduction by John Bayley"

"Most of Hardy's novels, and particularly the early ones, have a Shakespearean power of creating a unique world and climate of being . . . The Return of the Native is . . . thoughtful, valedictory, poetic, tinged with the somberness of an uncertainty which seems to well up from the depths of the author's own subconscious . . . Hardy's sense of the tragic life of human beings, mere small fragments of consciousness in a vast uncaring universe, comes directly from his own youthful awareness of the place and circumstances described in the novel." -from the Introduction by John Bayley

About the Author

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) had a writing career which spanned more than fifty years, and he is now considered both a major novelist and poet. His tales of Wessex, a fictional amalgamation of various south-west counties, have a lasting appeal, and many, such as The Mayor of Casterbridge and Tess of the d'Urbervilles have become popular television adaptations.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 1853262382
• ISBN 13: 9781853262388
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 400